The Internet Has Become Too American to Trust | The Walrus

Humans handle slow-moving disasters poorly by responding only after damage becomes obvious, such as placing buckets under a leak and waiting until the roof caves in. This pattern serves as a climate change metaphor for existential risk and delayed action. A crisis can force rapid change by removing excuses for inaction and shutting down fossil fuel influence. Energy shocks can accelerate transitions, such as speeding up European solar deployment after the Ukraine invasion and resulting energy crisis. The piece argues that while wars and aggression are unforgivable, some benefits can be salvaged from the disruption they cause, including faster policy and adoption of clean energy.

"A s a species, we are extremely bad at dealing with slow-motion disasters. When the roof leaks, we typically put a bucket under the drip and then forget about it until the next time it rains. And if, next time, there are two drips, well, that's just one more drip than the last time. No need to panic. And before you know it, every time it rains, we're setting out dozens of buckets. And it's not until the roof caves in, and the furniture is wrecked, that we take action. Because when the roof caves in, you have to move."

"So, spoiler alert: this is a climate change metaphor. This inability to act until it's too late is a curse upon our species. It's our existential risk. But that doesn't mean I'm happy that, every so often, some mad emperor precipitates a crisis, which, in turn, precipitates change. I'm not happy that Russian president Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. But I'm also not sad that the resulting energy crisis lit a fire under the European Union's energy transition, taking the bloc from ten years behind schedule on solarization to fifteen years ahead of schedule in just a few short years."

"It turns out that when you're shivering in the dark, all the reasons for inaction fade into the background. The all-powerful fossil fuel lobbyists suddenly find a lot of doors slamming in their faces in Brussels, in Strausburg, and in Berlin. And that tedious neighbour who insists the solar panel you want to hang on your balcony will "spoil the aesthetic character of the neighbourhood"-that jerk can piss off all the way into the sun. No one is going to listen to them anymore."

"Once again, all things being equal, the world would be better off without mad emperors and their wars of choice. But if there is a mad emperor, and there is a war of choice, at the very least we should strive to salvage what we can out of their depraved and unforgivable acts of aggression. For avoidance of doubt, this is a statement about United States president Donald Trump's lethal bungling i"

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